Blue frame incoming! Parts bin hardtail build for the win!

 

Good if you can do one, the builds aren't great value.
That blue is gorgeous too, shame the frame doesn't do it for me

 

I was right there until I hit the 2.5"x29" max tire size.

 

Hi, tot of getting the Chrome.....any disadvantges for that color then the blue ?

 

it reflects in the sun...about the only issue

 

Im not fond of the name. With A name such as Trans Am the frame should be one that postures power. Like the Pontiac Trans Am. I posted on the Trans Am group, will report back with the results

 

Be still my beating heart....what a beauty.

That being said...it is a little too slack and long travel for me. These super-slack hardtails are built like a brick house and ride accordingly. It ain't gonna be a comfy ride.

 

Run of the mill diamond frame.
Not that I dislike it. Its my favorite. Still nothing special all things considered.

If you sit on it like a ton of bricks then its clearly not going to be a comfy ride. Really makes you wonder how BMX or slopestyle riders do jumps with their bikes. That surely can't be comfortable!

 

The previous model TA were straightwall chromo, heavy and stiff as hell. WTBS, I really loved the geo. This one I think has a bit too much travel IMO. I feel like 130 is the most I really want/need out of a HT. I'd guess the sweet spot for HT angle is likely 66-67 for that amount of travel.

 

I'm on the fence with this. I really like my RSD RS-291 that's a 150mm 63.5* steel HT, I regularly use 130mm'ish of travel, but I've used the full 150mm a few times and I was really thankful it was there.

I am going to try an experiment with it though of putting a Wolf Tooth +1 geoshift headset and bringing the fork down to 140mm.

 

I think Transition did an amazing job on this. If I didn't already buy a new hardtail this year, I would buy this. Great bike from a great company!

 

I mentioned it in the other thread, but the lack of bottle bosses using stand-offs on the seat tube is a pretty big miss IMO. It's basically a requirement for me at this point to have three bottle mounts on a frame, carrying water on-body sucks.

 

Yeah I am working around it with One on the body and one on the bike. If I need more for a big ride or really hot day, I have a bag for Nalgene bottles I can strap under the downtube. HONAKER NALGENE® BAG — BEDROCK BAGS // Bikepacking

Next hardtail frame is going to have at least two bottle bosses. But will probably end up going custom

 

Waterbottle bosses on the seat tube prevents long droppers from fitting, this looks to be a long dropper style hardtail.

 

They don't have to. There are ways to add waterbottle bosses without intruding on the droper post.

 

Gonna give it time to see how the reviews pan pout and rode quality. If not too stiff might be a winner. Do agree 130-140 is the more the sweet spot for a AM HT.

 

Must be a lot of XC guys in here thinking this it to slack and to much travel. It has AM in its name. Show me one AM FS with less that 150 travel. When sagged it’s around 65.5. Steeper than most sagged AM FS bikes. For me it’s still to conservative.

 

Comparing a HT to a FS bike is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. This is exactly why the bike industry can keep shoving bikes down your throat, and you keep swallowing them, hook, line and sinker...

 

I'd guess the sweet spot for HT angle is likely 66-67 for that amount of travel.

To be fair at 140mm this would be close to 66° sagged.

Must be a lot of XC guys in here thinking this it to slack and to much travel. It has AM in its name. Show me one AM FS with less that 150 travel. When sagged it’s around 65.5. Steeper than most sagged AM FS bikes. For me it’s still to conservative.

Pipedream Sirius, Stanton Switch9er(65.5° at sag at 140mm).

Edit: Oh wait you said full sus. Cotic FlareMax 2 65.5° at sag at 130mm & maxes out at 140mm of travel up front. 125mm rear. Cotic Jeht gen 2 at 140mm has 64.9° hta. 140mm rear.

 

To be fair at 140mm this would be close to 66° sagged.


Pipedream Sirius, Stanton Switch9er(65.5° at sag at 140mm).

Edit: Oh wait you said full sus. Cotic FlareMax 2 65.5° at sag at 130mm & maxes out at 140mm of travel up front. 125mm rear. Cotic Jeht gen 2 at 140mm has 64.9° hta. 140mm rear.

130 is down country/ light trail, 140 is barely trail. Not All Mountain. This bike isn’t for everyone but it’s numbers aren’t super aggressive. Decent Geo if you want a Hardtail that can do more trails than a lot of current models out there.

 

As much as my age and some great bikes should have me set for life I liked this news. Better yet I see a friend's shop Slow Roll in Madison, WI already has them in stock.

 

Sure, 66 degrees HA sagged...and 80 degrees STA. That chit doesn't work for me. Way too much pressure on the hands and wrists when not going 8/10ths or powering up a steep climb+. Went through this with a Nimble 9.

 

The dumbest thing to do is make exceptions for a Hardtail and let the industry tell you you need more bikes. I mainly ride 2 bikes. An actual allrounder Hardtail that can climb, do long miles and any downhill trail and a Freeride FS that can also climb and do any trail back down. Boring bikes suck wether FS or Hardtail but people buy them like crazy because they listen to sponsored YouTubers, bloggers and other bike publications. You keep believing what you’re told. I will believe what I have real work experience riding.

130 is down country/ light trail, 140 is barely trail. Not All Mountain. This bike isn’t for everyone but it’s numbers aren’t super aggressive. Decent Geo if you want a Hardtail that can do more trails than a lot of current models out there.

Funny how you define these exact categories and then claim I'm the one listening to sponsors. What a tool.

 

Funny how you define these exact categories and then claim I'm the one listening to sponsors. What a tool.
[/QUOTE]
no point in arguing. Like it or not there are bike categories. A Tool would own one of each. How many bikes do you own?

 

I like the bike! And really I should, it’s pretty similar geometry to my Torrent. For the money though I would like to see a better fork then the Z2. Still a great bike but for $3500 I would go for a Chromag Rootdown or even the Torrent S2.

 

Z2 is a pretty good fork from experience but a Z1 would have been the more apt choice here.

 

My thoughts exactly. There is nothing wrong with a Z2 but for the price and what the bike is designed for I would expect a Z1.

 

FWIW, unfortunately it seems like you are still taking a gamble on the Z2 bushing issue. I rolled the dice this summer and came up short... Others have had better luck. Kind of a bummer given that this has been a known issue at Fox. Something to consider I guess.

 

That’s true, I forgot about that to be honest. I’m going to go against the grain and say if they want a great fork that doesn’t break the bank Suntour is the answer. The MSRP on the Z2 is $700 cnd. For $750 cnd you can pick up a Durolux 36 RC2.

 

Yeah I'd actually been thinking about the Zeron coil as a possible replacement.

The Marzocchi came stock on a bike I bought earlier this year, and I'd really been hoping they'd gotten their act together. We'll see what happens when I send it in to Fox. I've actually been pretty pleased with the Z2's performance which makes it more disappointing, particularly as a genuine old fart, to whom "Marzocchi Bomber" still resonates pretty loudly.

 

I have the Zeron 35 Coil that came on my Torrent. It’s a great fork! Being a coil it has excellent small bump sensitivity and it takes the big hits well. It is a tad heavy but of course it is, it’s a coil. The damper can be upgraded but Suntour told me it isn’t going to be anything remarkable. Basically easy and cheap to rebuild, and if the damper gives you any grief it’s $100 for a new one.

My fork on my other bike is the Aion 35 with a PCS damper. I love that fork as well. It’s buttery smooth, easy to service, and just works.

 

Id have been all over this if it were not for already having a NP Scout. These new era hardtails are so much fun.

 

How does it ride as a mullet? Do you have a BBH measurement in that configuration?

 

its very good/more control in tight/switch back/techy down/very flickable - the intention was flip flop between sizes to suit trails but I'll stick with the 27.5R for now. Running a 2.6 DHR in the rear the BB measured 297mm/around 309mm to centre of the shell-the wheel is forward so there would be clearance for a 2.8 - am using 30mm inner width rims.
In 29 setup the wheel is forward as well-2.4 on the rear buts there is def plenty of room to run a 2.5WT or a 2.6

 

Finished up my build, super impressed with this one. Sized down from my usual XL sizing to make it more of a big kids BMX shredder. It certainly delivers!

Fox 34 140mm
XT drivetrain
Ibis S35 29/27.5 MX
Vittoria Mazza/Martello
PNW Loam
I9 stem, Ibis carbon Hi bars
Ergon grips & saddle
#30.6 as it sits, under 30 with a lighter wheel/tire combo.

 

ive put 442kms on it in mullet and 41kms in 29 mode on 1 ride ( BTW a 2.6 x 29 DHR fits into the rear with plenty of space ) - its way better for me as a mullet-my loop has 800m of climbing, mixture of techy trails and some gnarl downhill sections-about a 2hr 40 ride which includes 10km of flat blackseal... its climbs better, jumps better - roles faster over flowing trail-you can get much lower in the bike going down and it just feels like it carries speed better/easier to turn + its just way more flickable as a mullet/geo feel's better..running with a 150mm Pike and 2.6 front and rear..im just under 6 foot on a large frame....ive got no issues at all with this bike...geo is so spot in mullet mode/plenty of rocky sections and zero pedal strike to date....its that good ive not ridden my full sus in 6 weeks! second set of bottle boses perfect for the Med B Rad Wolf Tooth strap mount...for the money/simplicity and setup options you can not go wrong at all...get the longest dropper you can fit-mines 200mm or so.